Famous married and long-term couples who insisted on living separately

Distance makes the heart grow fonder? As Kourtney Kardashian reveals she and husband Travis Barker still DON’T live together, a look at the other A-list couples who insisted on living separately, from

  • Kourtney, 43, recently revealed that she and her husband Travis, 46, don’t live together and that she still co-sleeps with her 10-year-old daughter, Penelope – but they’re not the only stars with a unique living situation
  • Gwyneth Paltrow, 50, and Brad Falchuk, 51, thrived living separately for the first year of their marriage while Victoria, 48, and David, 47, Beckham are reportedly enjoying their own space later on in their marriage
  • Kaley Cuoco, 36, and Karl Cook, 31, lived separately for over a year after tying the knot; the ultimately ended up moving in together in 2020, however they split the following year 
  • Helena Bonham Carter, 56, and Tim Burton, 64, took their separate living situation to the extreme by buying two adjoining houses and combining them together after Helena struggled to sleep with Tim’s snoring

There is no rulebook for the perfect marriage – and even if there was, some celebrity couples are proving that they are more than happy to throw it right out of the window, along with a lot of other wedded traditions, including sharing the same marital home. 

One such couple is Kourtney Kardashian and her new husband Travis Barker, with the reality star revealing in a recent interview that the pair still don’t live in the same house – and that she often co-sleeps with her 10-year-old daughter Penelope, instead of with her partner.  

But as it turns out, Kourtney, 43, and her rocker beau, 46, are one of many A-list pairings who have chosen to live separately, with several other celebrity couples coming out to share their own similarly unique living situations over the years. 

Gwyneth Paltrow – who defied convention when she announced that she was ‘consciously uncoupling’ from her first husband Chris Martin – once again bucked tradition when she revealed in June 2019 that she had her second husband, Brad Falchuk, retained their separate residences and lived apart for the first year of their marriage to ‘preserve mystery’. 

It appears the quirky convention proved successful because the couple are still going strong several years later – and have since ‘merged’ their lives and their homes. 

Keeping things separate: Even though Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker have been married since May 2022, the two live in separate homes and Kourtney still co-sleeps with her 10-year-old daughter, Penelope

‘We want our kids to also feel really comfortable and they have both lived in their homes their whole lives for the most part,’ Kourtney says of their decision to live in separate homes

However, choosing to maintain separate living spaces hasn’t worked for everyone. 

Kaley Cuoco and her ex-husband Karl Cook followed a similar pattern to Gwyneth and Brad, spending more than a year after their 2018 marriage in separate homes, before eventually moving in together in 2020. 

Ultimately, that may well have been an error because the pair split one year later. 

However Kourtney insisted during a recent interview that her and Travis’ set-up has been working like a charm – particularly for their respective children, whom they wanted to be able to keep living in their own homes. 

Kourtney has daughter Penelope, 10, and sons Mason, 12, and Reign, seven, with her former partner Scott Disick, while Travis welcomed a son named Landon, 18, and a daughter named Alabama, 16, with ex-wife Shanna Moakler.

‘We want our kids to also feel really comfortable and they have both lived in their homes their whole lives for the most part,’ she told Dear Media’s Not Skinny, Not Fat podcast, also noting that they aren’t living particularly far apart – because their homes are located just across the street from each other.

While they each have their own reasons, DailyMail.com reveals the other famous couples who opted to live separately – and their reasons why, from work obligations to issues over loud snoring.

Gwyneth Paltrow, 50, and Brad Falchuk, 51, spent the first year of their marriage living in separate homes – even though they had been together for some time before they had tied the knot.

The two met in 2010 and began dating in 2014 when Gwyneth appeared in a guest spot on Glee, which Brad was working on as a producer. 

Their romance came just months after the actress had split from her ex-husband, Coldplay singer Chris Martin, after 10 years together; as for Brad, he had ended his 20-year marriage with producer Suzanne Bulnik a year before he met Gwyneth.

Brad popped the question in 2017, and they tied the knot a year later in 2018 – something the movie star admitted she’d never do again.

‘For a while, I thought, I don’t know if I’d ever do it again. I have my kids — what’s the point?’ said Gwyneth, who is mom to daughter Apple and son Moses from her marriage to Chris.

‘And then I met this incredible man, who made me think, no, this person is worth making this commitment to. I’m very much the marrying kind.’

They would spend the next year living separately – a decision Gwyneth doesn’t seem to regret. 

‘One of my best friends was like, “That is my dream. Don’t ever move in,”‘ she joked to Harper’s Bazaar, while reflecting on their once-unconventional living situation in 2020.

‘I think it certainly helps with preserving mystery and also preserving the idea that this person has their own life.’

‘I think it certainly helps with preserving mystery and also preserving the idea that this person has their own life,’ Gwyneth said of living separately from Brad

They ended up moving in together in 2019 and she joked, ‘so our sex life is over’ a year later

She also told InStyle, ‘Married life has been really good. We took a year to let everybody [in the family] take it in and let the dust settle. And now we’re moving in together.’

The couple ended up officially moving in together in 2019, and Gwyneth later joked that it ruined their sex life.

‘So, our sex life is over,’ she told Harper’s Bazaar.

Despite the challenges of living together with their kids – Brad also has two from his past marriage, a daughter named Isabella and a son named Brody – they still seem to be going strong. 

In September 2021, he shared a gushing post for the GOOP founder to Instagram in honor of her 49th birthday, writing, ‘When you live with this woman, a few things become clear. 

‘There are the obvious things — that she’s beautiful, that she’s funny, that she likes things the way she likes them, when she likes them. That she is always busy — but also always has time for you.

‘But the two things that really stand out are that she notices. And she acts. A lot of people notice without acting. They notice. Then they complain or they gossip, or they shrug. 

‘And a lot of people act without noticing. Sometimes it’s helpful, but that is a dangerous way to act. Because you’re usually just acting for yourself.

‘She may notice you need a hug and give you an outstanding one. She may notice that you’re hungry and make you a delicious egg sandwich. She may notice you love the Red Sox, and she will live and die with them even if she doesn’t understand what the Hell is going on in the game.

‘She may notice that you’re tired all the time and she will get you the right doctor to balance your hormones or create a little chewy square to help you sleep or wake up or teach you to meditate.’

Kaley Cuoco and Karl Cook lived separately for over a year after getting married, as they waited for their dream house to be built

Kaley Cuoco and Karl Cook lived separately for over a year in 2019 after they tied the knot and even though they ended up moving in, they ultimately split in 2021

Kaley Cuoco, 36, and Karl Cook, 31, also spent a big chunk of their newlywed phase living apart. The equestrian duo two met at a horse meet back in 2016, and tied the knot two years later in June 2018.

‘I couldn’t be happier. I feel very, very lucky that I found someone like him,’ the actress told Us Weekly in 2017. 

‘I like to torture him and he doesn’t get mad at me. He just lets me do it. I’m just constantly trying to rib him. He’s got such a great sense of humor.

‘I like it when I’m bugging him, bugging him and then I finally get that laugh which just kills me. He’s just … I don’t know. He’s a real person.’

In August 2019, over a year after they became husband and wife, Kaley confessed that the two still weren’t living together. 

‘We have a very unconventional marriage,’ she told E News! at the time. ‘We have different locations that we’re at a lot. We’re not together every single day, and I think personally it’s important, it works well for us.’

The equestrian duo two had met at a horse meet in 2016 and tied the knot two years later in June 2018

Kaley explained that the reason why they weren’t living together is because they were waiting for their dream home to be built

Even though living separately was working out for the pair, she explained that they did intend to take that next step of moving in together. 

‘We’re building our dream house,’ she explained. ‘We’re eventually gonna be under the same roof forever.’

They eventually met that goal and moved in together in March 2020, with Kaley boasting that it was ‘great for their relationship’ during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! a month later.

‘We like each other, we’ve realized, which is even better,’ she joked at the time. 

However, by September 2021, the two announced that they would be divorcing. They said in a joint statement, ‘Despite a deep love and respect for one another, we have realized that our current paths have taken us in opposite directions.

‘We have both shared so much of our journey publicly so while we would prefer to keep this aspect of our personal life private, we wanted to be forthcoming in our truth together. There is no anger or animosity, quite the contrary.’

Victoria and David Beckham reportedly live in ‘his and her wings’ of their UK mansion


Victoria and David Beckham reportedly moved into separate his and hers wings of their mansion in 2018, 19 years into their marriage

Victoria, 48, and David, 47, Beckham’s relationship has stood the test of time – and that could be due to the fact that they partially live apart. 

The Beckhams, who have been married for 23 years and share four kids together, have lived all over the world due to both of their mega careers.

However, when they moved back to the UK following David’s retirement in 2018, they decided to get a house with separate ‘his and hers wings,’ a source told Us Weekly at the time.

Divorce rumors were swirling around the couple at the time, but the source explained that separating their lives seemed to be helping their marriage. 

‘I think they quite like having somewhat separate lives. When you’ve been married that long, some regular distance does you both good,’ the insider told the publication.

Their $5.6 million farmhouse reportedly has two distinct living quarters – of equal size – each with their own kitchen, bedrooms, and a courtyard; the living quarters are separated by a gallery.

‘It actually works out well for David, Victoria and the kids,’ said another source. ‘If they are all driving each other mad, they can retreat into these wings like they are living in separate houses.’

The two are still happily married to this day. Just days ago, Victoria shared a sweet tribute for her husband marking 30 years since his Manchester United debut.

’30 years since this stud came on the scene,’ she wrote on her Instagram Stories, alongside a video that showed David shooting his first goal for Manchester United in the early days of his football career.

Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Burton lived in conjoined homes due to Tim’s snoring problems

During their 13-year relationship, the pair lived in two separate homes that were joined together because Helena struggled with falling asleep due to Tim’s snoring

Helena Bonham Carter, 56, and Tim Burton, 64, had opted with a somewhat similar layout to the Beckhams. 

Even though the two never officially tied the knot, they dated for 13 years after they met on the set of Planet of the Apes in 2001 and had two kids together. 

The reason Helena wanted to sleep in a separate accommodation is an issue many can relate to. The actress struggled with insomnia because of Tim’s snoring.

The two ultimately decided to buy two separate homes and join them together. 

‘We see as much of each other as any couple, but our relationship is enhanced by knowing we have our personal space to retreat to,’ she allegedly told Radio Times in 2010.

‘It’s not enforced intimacy. It’s chosen, which is quite flattering—if you can afford it.’

The two also used it as an opportunity to express their creativity and decorated each of their places to their own unique taste.

Helena and Tim dated for 13 years after they met on the set of Planet of the Apes in 2001 and had two kids together.

Helena shared that living separately had an added bonus of intimacy that wasn’t ‘enforced’ by sharing a bed

Unfortunately, the two ended their 13-year relationship in 2014, and Helena revealed that she actually ended up keeping both of the homes that the pair shares during their romance. 

And while the star praised her ‘generous’ ex-partner for allowing her to keep the two properties, she admitted it makes her feel like an ‘alien person’ as she sleeps in one and their kids – Billy and Nell – stay in another. 

‘It’s very sensible – and luckily I’ve kept both houses now,’ she told the Sunday Times of the living arrangement in 2019, while praising her ‘generous’ ex-partner for allowing her to keep both properties. 

‘He was very generous. The double house is not really two houses, it’s two small houses that have been put together. I did not have room to house children, put it that way. I lived in a cottage.

She added: ‘And I did always think, “God, wouldn’t it be ideal if Mister Right lived next door because then I’d have room to put the bedrooms in?” So what was Tim’s house is basically the family house and I kept my bedroom and my kitchen. 

‘But even then it feels like I’m an alien person because I live next door to my children, which is really none of anyone’s …The more mystique the better. It’s a really magical place, everyone gets lost.’

Before they split, Helena and Tim, who kept the couple’s Grade II listed estate in Oxfordshire, have stayed on good terms and equally split custody of their children when their schedules allow it.

Ashley Graham and Justin Ervin lived in different cities during one point of their marriage 

Ashley Graham insisted that living in separate city from her husband Justin Ervin was ‘pretty sexy’


The two started dating in 2009 and decided that they’d abstain from sex until they got married and started their relationship off without staying over each others’ place

Ashley Graham and Justin Ervin always done things their own way from the very start of their relationship.

The two started dating in 2009 and decided that they’d abstain from sex until they got married, even starting their relationship off without staying over each others’ place.

‘Because we weren’t sleeping together — for Justin, abstinence was a firm commitment to his faith — we never tempted ourselves by going over to each other’s apartments late at night,’ she detailed in her memoir, A New Model: What Confidence, Beauty, and Power Really Look Like. 

They got married a year after dating in 2010 but it seems that didn’t stop them from living separately.

Ashley revealed in 2016 that the two were living in separate cities with Ashley residing in NYC while Justin lived in LA. 

‘We have a rule. We don’t go longer than two weeks without seeing each other,’ she told ET at the time. ‘It’s absolutely fabulous. I love it. We just meet in L.A. or New York. We meet in Paris, Miami. It’s pretty sexy.’

While it’s unclear whether the two live together now, it’s unlikely that they’re still maintaining a long-distance marriage given that they share three boys under three years old.

Ashley has an apartment in Brooklyn, New York, where she regularly posts selfies from – including snaps with her beau, suggesting that the pair are co-habiting, at least part of the time.  

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